A Little Piece of Ground

by Elizabeth Laird

12-year-old Karim, in common with most boys his age, dreams of being a champion footballer. Unfortunately, his life in Ramallah is severely hampered by the presence of Israeli troops and tanks.

Between curfews, Karim and his friends clear a patch of wasteland to use as a football pitch and sneak off to play whenever they can, but when the soldiers return, Karim finds himself trapped and in real danger.

Elizabeth Laird’s new book has provoked accusations of bias in favour of the Palestinian cause, but has also garnered much praise. She writes movingly about what it is like to live under the daily gaze of enemy gunsights, and is particularly eloquent at describing Karim’s feelings of shame and impotence, which are matched only by those of anger and desire for revenge.

A Little Piece of Ground cleverly combines an exciting story with pressing political issues and as such is sure to encourage passionate debate.

Publisher: Macmillan Children's books

Elizabeth Laird

Elizabeth Laird is the award-winning author of many highly acclaimed novels. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand, but is of Scottish descent and was educated at Croydon High School. She spent a year teaching in Malaysia, before studying languages at Bristol and Edinburgh universities. Elizabeth has spent much of her life living and working abroad, including long spells in Lebanon, Ethiopia and India. She now lives in Richmond and Edinburgh with her husband.

Elizabeth has written over 30 books for children on a broad range of subjects, from historical adventures to real life stories, picture books to retelling of folk tales. She has won many awards, including the Children's Book Award for Kiss the Dust, the Smarties Young Judges Award, and the Lancashire Book Award. Elizabeth has been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal five times as well as every other major children’s book award.

http://www.elizabethlaird.co.uk/

Photo: Macmillan